BJP leader lays foundation stone for Ram Mandir in Murshidabad

In the heart of West Bengal's Murshidabad district, where politics and faith collides like thunderclouds, two parallel events today have turned the air electrifying. Just months before the 2026 Assembly elections, suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir laid the foundation stone for a Babri Masjid replica in Beldanga amid innumerable cheering supporters, while in Baharampur's Banjetia area, BJP leader Sakharav Sarkar performs Ram Puja and shila-pujan and lays the foundation of Ram Mandir.

These back-to-back events sparks fierce debate on religious harmony versus vote-bank, with both sides accusing the other of stoking division in a region where minorities make up the most of the population. The Babri event kicked off with Quran recitations and heavy security—police, RAF, and central forces blanketing the 25-bigha site off NH-12 in Beldanga. Humayun Kabir, fresh from his TMC suspension for "communal politics," called it a "prestige fight" for Muslims, promising not just the mosque but a hospital, school, and guest house costing over Rs 300 crores.

Supporters carried bricks on their heads, waving Indian flags while the crowd chanted. Meanwhile in Baharampur's Banjetia Manindra Nagar area, BJP's Sakharav Sarkar performs Ram Puja with traditional chants and offerings, vowing a full bhumi pujan soon and construction of Ram Mandir. Meanwhile, TMC already distanced themselves from Kabir, though BJP slammed it as provocative. Locals worry about any fresh violence in a border district already tense from recent revisions of SIR voter lists.